It's All in the Cards
by laurenmdean
Summary: When Sam gets injured on his werewolf hunt, Dean takes care of him. He with the help of Bobby help nurse Sam back to health and show him the true meaning of family. Pre-Series. Dean 15/Sam 11
1. Chapter 1

Sam lowered his head to the ground, the leaves thick and they made a nice pillow. He could hear the fight happening right next to his body, but he couldn't move to help Dean. He heard the shot of a gun and something large hit the ground hard. _Please be the monster. _Sam thought to himself, he craned his neck just enough to see the body of the werewolf huddled on the ground. Dean's breathing was hard, and the only thing keeping the woods from being too quite.

"Sam?" Dean called, his footsteps getting closer the large man strewn across the forest floor. He laid his hand on the younger Winchester's back. Sam only let out a weak little moan. "Dude, come on." Dean coaxed, but Sam couldn't move. He felt Dean's hands running down his back to his leg, which was very clearly broken.

"AHH" Sam let out a loud yell as Dean gripped his bad leg.

"It's broken." Dean commented, the worry dripping from his voice. "I am gonna call dad, just stay there Sammy." Dean patted his back and flipped the phone open. There was an eerie silence as Sam lay there, and he could hear Dean arguing over the phone, he caught pieces of it.

"_I was right there…." _Dean yelled loudly. He closed the phone angrily and he stalked back over to his brother's side. "Come on Sammy, I am gonna get you back to the house with or without his help." Dean sighed loudly as he carefully lifted Sam into his arms.

"Dean, it hurts" Sam moaned groggily.

"I know it does Sammy, but, when we get back to the house, we will be able to see it clearly." Dean hushed Sam and he kept walking.

The lights from the dining room of the little old cabin shone bright. They were almost welcoming. The cabin, which Sam and Dean had been staying in was the closest thing that they had called home for a long time. John was with Bobby over ninety miles away. Dean opened the door carefully and he balanced Sam with his shoulder and his other arm. He set Sam on the couch carefully and he groaned with pain.

"It's ok Sam." Dean whispered to him. He moved the chair that was sitting next to the end table near to Sam. He took out his pocket knife and cut Sam's jeans from the knee down. It exposed and already swelling bruised mass. Dean hissed with disapproval. He rose out of the chair and flipped the phone open. Sam was barely conscious now, so Dean wasn't worried about leaving the room to call John. "Dad, it's bad." Is all Dean said before he closed his phone and stalked back to Sam's side. "Dad will be here soon." Dean whispered, realizing Sam wasn't listening to him. He moved the hair off of Sam's forehead and sighed loudly.

An hour later, Dean heard a car approaching the house; he grabbed his shotgun and stood ready by the door. Looking out of a crack in the wall, Dean noticed Bobby high tailing it for the door and John not far behind. Dean waited for the secret knock before taking the locks off. He slung open the wooden blockade and the two men rushed in. Dean shut the door behind them quickly.

"Dean, where is your brother?" John hastily said, holding Dean by the shoulder.

"He's over on the couch." Dean signed for them to go. They stalked over and they came face to face with a slightly pale, slightly red little boy, lying under a thin layer of covers, his leg propped up on the stack of pillows.

"Sammy?" John crouched down and he moved the hair that was stuck to the little sweaty forehead. "Damn it, he already has a fever." John sighed loudly before running his hand over his face.

"Well let's see what we got here." Bobby's voice broke the tense seconds. He flipped the covers off of Sam and he looked at his leg.

"What do you think Bobby?" Dean asked as he joined the party in the living room.

"You're brother is running a fever, and it looks like it is a bad break in his shin." Bobby said as he lowered the blanket back down. "Now, I know how to make casts, but there has to be something else going on here." Bobby practically finished the end of the sentence in a yell. He glanced at Dean who was now sitting on the edge of the couch, rubbing the blanket between his fingers. John stalked over to his bag that he dropped on the floor by the front door and began digging. He pulled out a small pill bottle and dumped some in his hand.

"Bobby, these aren't much, but they may help fight the infection." John said as he shakily handed the small white round pills to Bobby.

"These will help right now, but this kid is going to need a lot more than a couple of little pills. Once I get his leg casted, he will need pain medicine, and from the severity of this break, he is going to need a lot of them." Bobby strutted to the kitchen. He began filling a glass with water when John looked sternly at Dean.

"I want to know _exactly _what happened out there, and I want to know right now son." John's voice was deep and menacing.

"Well, Sam and I were out there, hunting the werewolf. Sam was not but three steps behind me. He heard something to our left and he began to step towards it. Within a split second, I look and Sam is flying through the air, landing on his leg hard. It made a splitting noise." Dean was terrified by reliving the account of the night.

"And Sam was never father than a few feet away from you?" John asked as Bobby made his appearance back in the living room.

"John, we need to wake him up." Bobby sighed. John shook Sam lightly.

"Come on little man, it is time to wake up." Sam stirred slowly, his long eye lashes shuttering a few times before he finally opened his eyes.

"Dad?" Sam asked lightly.

"Yeah, I'm here. So is Uncle Bobby." John pointed to the man standing to Sam's left. "And Dean is sitting at the end of the couch." John finished giving Dean a stern look.

"Hey Sammy." Dean said lightly.

"Why does my leg hurt so badly?" Sam asked hissing in pain.

"Well Uncle Bobby said it is hurt pretty badly." John said stroking Sam's forehead. He was burning hot and John took strict notice of it. Bobby handed John the medicine. "You have to take these." John said handing the pills to Sam, who threw them in his mouth with no question and chugging the water down.

"I'm so tired dad." Sam yawned.

"Ok Sammy, lay your head down and go to sleep." Dean whispered to him. "When you wake up, I will teach you how to use crutches, you will be on them for a while." Dean sighed at the realization.

"Dean, can I talk to you for a minute?" Bobby asked quietly. John didn't even move to look at the departing two people. Once in the clear, Bobby put his hand on Dean's shoulder. "Son, im not saying you did anything bad, hell, I am sure you did everything right. But, this is really important. Did Sam seem sick at all to you before you left on this hunt? Anything at all, a sneeze, a cough, anything?" Dean stared at the wall for a minute thinking. He couldn't recall anything.

"No, Sam didn't seem any different. He was his annoying, asking questions self." Dean finally said. He stared at Bobby for a minute who looked confused.

"He didn't even seem overly tired." Bobby asked trying to get answers, prodding.

"No not at all, he was up before me this morning, he was cleaning his gun, he was so excited about this hunt." Dean said before glancing at the ground. "And I let him get hurt." Bobby sighed.

"Boy, you feeling sorry for yourself won't get Sam up and walking any quicker, you need to be strong, if not for yourself, then for him." Bobby laid his hand on Dean's shoulder and walked back out to the living room, leaving Dean to his own devices.

In what felt like an eternity, Dean finally appeared back in the bright light of the room. Sam was awake and looking around.

"He has been asking for you." John said as he turned to look at Dean who was just standing there.

"Did you get it Dean?" The kid asked, leaning over his leg slightly.

"Yeah Sammy, I got it." Dean chuckled as he approached the sickly looking boy. "Too bad you were out for the count; you could have done it yourself." Sam laughed but you could tell he was in pain.

"Well, I was a little busy being thrown through the air." Sam glanced as Dean crouched by his side.

"Well, I can't wait until you get to run with me again, I will find us a good hunt for when you get better." Dean stroked Sam's sweaty head and felt the heat that was radiating off of him. He let the worried look cross his face.

"Something the matter Dean?" Sam asked. Dean shook his head and smiled slightly.  
"No Sammy, I just can't wait to see you better." Dean laughed it off and he looked at John who was now conversing with Bobby in the other room. "Yeah Sam, when your better, we will do a lot of things." Dean glanced back at Sam who was letting his eyes close.

"They gave me pain medicine." Sam commented lightly. He was trying to fight the sleep.

"Go to sleep then, I will be here when you wake up." Dean said patting the kids head again.

"Promise?" Sam asked sleepily.

"Promise" Dean gruffly whispered. Sam closed his eyes and was fast asleep in no time.

"I don't know what else to do John!" Bobby's yell broke the few minutes of silence. Dean rose from his seat next to Sam. He had full intention of telling them to keep it down. But when he entered the poorly decorated kitchen he saw how heated the argument was.

"Well, Bobby…" John stopped talking when he noticed Dean creeping around the corner. "Dean!" John yelled loudly. Dean came into the darkness slowly.

"Sam's asleep." Dean said quietly.

"Well, that is good." Bobby said, taking a deep breath in and letting it out slowly. "We have to watch him for the next couple of hours, any spiking in fever or sign of infection; we are taking him to the hospital." Bobby then stormed out of the room.

"Dad?" Dean slowly asked.

"Bobby is just being a jack ass son, nothing to worry about." John turned to his oldest and tried to let out a smile, it was forced, but Dean appreciated the effort.

"What about Sam?" Dean asked, now looking back into the living room.

"Your brother will be fine, if you want to go to sleep, I can take first watch." John nudged him towards the doorway before he could protest.

"Yes sir." Dean obeyed, he didn't like leaving Sam but he did as he was told.

Dean lay with his eyes open on top of the covers for a while. He was staring at the big crack in the ceiling and the broken ceiling fan fixture someone failed to put up had wires hanging down from it. Dean rolled over on his side to try to get some sleep, but he just came face to face with an empty bed his brother usually occupies. _I can't sleep. _Dean thought to himself as he rolled to the other side. The wall was no more help than anything else in the room. _Damn it. _He cursed to himself. _Why can't I fall asleep? _But Dean knew the answer, he knew without the breathing of his little brother beside him felt wrong. He knew he was never going to get any sleep at this rate. Dean hung his legs off of the bed for a minute; he then grabbed his pillow and stripped the bed of the comforter. He carried them out to the living room, slowly he crept as to not wake anyone. The floor seemed much louder now that the house was still and the wind wasn't blowing.

"Dean is that you?" He heard his dad's gruff voice call from the darkness. Dean sighed loudly and came around the corner faster. He saw his dad perched by the little coffee table in the middle of the room, his gun stripped and cleaning cloths in his hand.

"Hey dad." Dean finally said.

"What are you doing skulking around in the dark? That is exactly how you get shot." John scolded him. Dean walked slower, letting his blanket half drag behind him. "And what are you doing up, with your blankets no less?" John asked loudly.

"Dad isn't Bobby sleeping?" Dean asked turning around to glance down the dark hallway.

"Don't tell me to be quite." John yelled louder now getting up off of the floor.

"No dad I wasn't…" Dean faded out his sentence when he noticed John now walking towards him.

"Are you talking back to me now Dean Winchester?" John yelled louder this time, what Dean thought was the loudest any human being could yell.

"Um, no sir." Dean cowered at the footsteps coming towards him. He could smell alcohol on John before he got within spitting distance, so Dean knew he was going to get a beating, and one that put every other one to shame. John grabbed Dean by the shirt collar and he dropped everything that he was holding onto.

"Now boy, did I ask if you were talking back to me. I expect you not to lie this time." John practically spit in Dean's face.

"I…" Dean began, but realizing he might as well not defend himself, dropped it quickly.

"What was that boy?" John asked, raising his hand to hit Dean.

"Ah." Dean let out a little squeak as he closed his eyes tight bracing for the impact. But Dean instead felt a force pull him foreword, he opened his eyes long enough to see his body tumbling down on top of John's body. He felt another hand pull him upright and now came face to face with Bobby, who had John by the throat pinned against the ground.

"Dean, get your brother and get in the truck, NOW!" Bobby yelled struggling to keep the now flailing John from getting up. Dean hopped to action, he went to the couch and scooped up the burning up little body off of the couch, blankets and all, Dean took Sam to the front door and opened it carefully as to not jar Sam's broken, now splinted leg. _Sam is so hot. _Dean thought to himself as he reached the front porch. The wind was blowing now and there was a storm on the way. The thunder was rolling loud and Dean didn't want to stop moving towards the safety of the familiar blue pickup Bobby drove. He reached the passenger side when he noticed Bobby hadn't come out yet. Dean dropped Sam in the seat carefully making sure his leg wasn't going to get jarred. He glanced around the open door and realized that it got really quite in the house. He began to slowly trek back when Bobby came out of the house onto the porch. "Get in the truck Dean." Bobby yelled, he began to descend the three stairs. He reached the drivers side and took one look at the two kids in the seat. He sighed loudly.

"What now uncle bobby?" Dean asked, holding the youngest in his lap.

"Well, we are going to get your brother some care. He needs to be seen by a doctor." Bobby turned on the engine and it roared to life, he put the truck into reverse and backed up quickly, slinging onto the road. Dean lowered his head to feel Sam's forehead.

"He is really hot Uncle Bobby." Dean finally said, breaking the silence. The rain was now pouring down on the ancient trucking spattering and spewing. Dean looked at the man's face, it was dripping with worry.

"I know son, we just have a few more miles to go." Bobby commented reaching over and patting the fifteen year olds shoulder. _That boy is all muscle now, he has grown up. _Bobby thought to himself as he put the peddle down to the floor.

The hospital reeked of antiseptic. Dean paced around the private waiting room floor. Bobby perched himself on the edge of a chair, ready to spring at any given news.

"Boy, would you sit down? All the walking around isn't gonna help anything." Bobby finally intervened. Dean parked himself on the closest chair to the door. He tapped his foot quickly. "I am going to go stark crazy in here if we don't hear something soon." Bobby finally said. He glanced at the clock. "It is already four o' eight?" Bobby rose from his chair and drug the hat off of his head. Just as Bobby turned his back, a little blonde nurse opened the door gently.

"Sam Winchester's family?" She asked quietly.

"Uh yes that's us!" Dean practically yelled as he walked up on the girl. She flipped open the chart and glanced at it.

"Um lets see, Sam Winchester came in with a bad break to his leg that was splinted by his uncle, and this all happened on a…hunting trip?" She asked. Both Bobby and Dean nodded their heads. "OK, well when Sam got in, he had a high fever and a badly broken shin, after testing it is showing that the high fever was because when Sam took the fall, he ruptured his kidney." She glanced at Dean and Bobby who were now hissing through their teeth and getting angry about it. "But after the surgery, we ended up taking out the right kidney. He can function fine with one, but I want you to talk to one of the head nurses here to get all of the stipulations of living with one kidney." She finished her sentence and Dean took a deep breath.

"So what now?" Dean asked. The lady smiled and she looked Dean square in the face.

"Well now, we wait. He is in the recovery room and when he gets moved to his own room we will make sure to have someone come and get you." She turned on her heels and left the room.

"Well that's a relief." Bobby sighed as he slumped down into one of the chairs. "At least now I can take a minute and breath."

"I won't take a minute until I see Sam." Dean retorted glancing at Bobby who was hanging his head back against another chair.

"You will get to see him soon boy, he is fine, just relax for a minute." Bobby scolded. Dean sat down obediently. He kept glancing at the clock, and when finally the clock read five forty five a brown haired nurse came into the room.

"Little Sam is awake and wanting to see you." She cheerily held the door open for the two men and they breezed past her, Dean almost in a run. "Room number 56." The nurse called to them.

"Thank you." Bobby called back to her and held up his hand in a wave.


	2. Chapter 2

The hospital room was quite, beside the bedside monitor beeping with Sam's heartbeat. His leg was in a large white cast and hung up in a device that looked like a sling. Dean shuttered at seeing Sam like this. He went right to his bedside and touched his hand gently. Sam opened his eyes and they lit right up.

"Dean!" He practically yelled, more cheery than he had been earlier. Dean perked up right away.

"Sam!" Dean yelled back as he took Sam in for a hug. "You had us worried" Dean half scolded in a playful tone.

"I know I'm sorry." Sam apologized looking down at the clean neatly spread white blanket.

"So, they giving you good stuff in here kid?" Bobby asked breaking the silence.

"Well Uncle Bobby, they give me these liquids through my IV and they make me feel dizzy almost like I am swimming in a giant hot tub." Sam explained almost dreamily.

"Yep, the good stuff." Bobby chuckled as he patted Sam's good leg. He stepped to the side when he noticed a nurse coming in with a tray.

"Well hello there Sam it is good to see you feeling better. I am nurse Monica and I was in here last night when they brought you in." She smiled at him before leaning into his bed, like she was going to tell him a secret, "and to be honest, I am supposed to be upstairs taking care of the grown ups, but hey, I thought I would see how my favorite patient is." She smiled widely. Dean was behind her making vulgar hand jokes. Sam couldn't help but smile at both things. She then turned her attention to Bobby and Dean, "Hello there. Are you the uncle and the brother?" She asked politely.

"Yes we are" Bobby quickly said.

"Well, this is an antibiotic that the doctor wants Sam on every day until he gets out of here." She cleaned the IV tube port and stuck the needle in, slowly pushing the plunger while she looked at her watch. When she finished that, she dropped it in the "Used Needles Bin" in her little tray. "And this one" she pulled a second capped needle out of the bin. "This is the pain medicine. It has been a couple of hours since your last one, and they wanted you to wake up without pain medicine. You will feel much better after this." She finished explaining it, and went through the same ritual as the other injection. When she finally finished she walked over to Bobby and Dean again. "He is going to be very tired, we need to let him sleep. I can have some other nurses bring in bedding and two roll aways for you gentleman." Upon the nurse noticing Dean's worried glance she smiled lightly, "they did say you were protective." She commented before putting her hand on his shoulder, "hey don't worry so much, he is in the best hands." She patted it for a second then walked past them. She turned on her heels and smiled widely, "goodnight Sam, I will see you in the afternoon tomorrow." She walked out of the door and closed it behind her.

"Well I think she has a thing for you kid." Dean chuckled as soon as the door clicked.

"Yeah…Dean….maybe." Sam was dragging his words out as the pain medicine took its course.

"Yeah Sammy, you just sleep." Dean sighed as he noticed Sam was fighting closing his eyes. He soon gave in though, his head fell softly against the comfy hospital pillow.

The nurses brought in two cots and blankets, and once they were arranged in the large hospital room, Dean curled up under his blanket, he drifted off to the sound of Sam sleeping soundly.

"Excuse me." Dean felt his shoulder being shook, he jumped up quickly and reached under his pillow for his gun, it wasn't there. He then remembered where he was.

"Oh, yes?" He asked yawning loudly.

"Im sorry to disturb you sir, but I wanted to let you know that they have Sam down in the lab doing some tests on him. They said he was asking for you." The nurse finished by stepping back, still looking frightened.

"Oh, well, take me to him." Dean commented quickly, he grabbed his jacket off of the side of the cot and began putting it on while walking. The nurse was pretty much sprinting to keep up with Dean, even though she was the one who was supposed to be guiding him. Dean was following the signs and finally found himself at a white door. The nurse, now out of breath, walked in front of him and scanned her badge.

"He is right in here, tell them who you are and they will let you see Sam." The nurse breathed out, she coughed slightly as Dean walked past her. She shut the door behind him, and Dean heard the locks clicking.

"Excuse me?" Dean called out to the woman behind the glass. The room looked like a normal doctor's office.

"Yeah sugar, what can I do for you?" She was an older looking lady who moved slower than molasses.

"Yes, I am Sam Winchester's brother, they told me he was asking for me." Dean breathed out trying to get to Sam as quick as he could.

"Oh yes, they told me to be expecting you. Hold on, I need to call the head doctor up to escort you." She picked up the phone and hit the number one on it, talked to the person on the other end for a minute, nodded her head and hung up. "He said he will be right up sweetheart." She closed the window and went about her Solitaire game she was in the middle of. The door to Dean's right opened and a man in a white lab coat opened the door.

"I am guessing you are Dean?" He asked as he shook Dean's hand. "Sam is just back here." He led Dean down a white hallway, everything was white, and it smelled like alcohol.

"So, what exactly is Sam being tested for in here?" Dean asked as he looked around a little bit.

"Well, here in the lab we specialize with a lot of things, but, I am going to wait until the main doctor comes in to explain some things to you." He stopped at a door, the last one on the left and opened it slowly. "Sam?" He called in before going in. He knocked slightly and a light cough erupted in answer.

"Sam?" Dean hollered into the room, blowing right past the doctor. Sam was behind a curtain and he had no shirt on.

"I was in the middle of my examination when he wouldn't let me proceed without you being here." The doctor explained as he walked behind the curtain first. He lifted Sam from a chair slowly and carefully into a wheelchair, his casted leg clunking along. Sam still didn't have a shirt on and the doctor put a stethoscope to his lungs. "That is what I was afraid of." The doctor sighed as he wrapped them back up. And put them on his neck. He signaled Dean to come over next to Sam and sit down.

"What's going on Doc?" Dean asked looked more confused than anything.

"Well it was very early this morning, not long after you all settled down for the night, Sam began coughing erratically, like he couldn't get his throat cleared. The nurse ran and told the doctor on call, and he called me. I think your brother has contracted pneumonia." The doctor finished his statement and like it was on cue Sam began hacking. Dean laid his hand on Sam's back and did small circles.

"What are we going to do now?" Dean asked letting Sam recover for a minute.

"Well at this point we give him certain medicine to help him clear this up, while we treat for the infection from his kidney. It means he is probably going to be here for longer than we intended." The doctor finished and Sam cleared his throat.

"Dean, how long am I gonna be in here?" Sam asked innocently.

"I don't know Sammy; we have to get you better though, so however long it takes for that to happen." Dean rubbed Sam's arm.

"Well, he can go back to the room. Do you want to push him there? Or would you like one of the nurses…"

"I'll take him." Dean cut him off as he hopped up to push Sam's wheelchair.

"Lets get you out of here, I feel like you are getting sicker the longer you stay in here." Dean shuddered as he pushed Sam's wheelchair through the open door and down the long white hallway. Through the lobby with the old receptionist Dean waved and wished her a good day.

"Dean?" Sam finally pipped up halfway down the hallway. He was wheezing, but had a portable oxygen on his lap. He put the mask to his face for a second and Dean stopped pushing his and crouched in front of him.

"Yeah Sam?" Dean asked staring at the small little boy with a mask on to help him breath.

"Am I going to die in here?" Sam asked, he was serious and he looked scared.

"NO!" Dean practically yelled. "There is no way I am letting that happen, you know why?" Dean asked Sam. Sam smiled and said

"Why?" The smile now almost cheek to cheek.

"Because I am your brother and I am never letting that happen, I am always here for you." Dean finished his sentence before getting out of the crouched position and going back to keep pushing Sam. "We better get back soon, Bobby will think we left the hospital and left him here." Dean chuckled and began pushing Sam, his fake smile fading off of his face. Sam used the oxygen again as his wheezing began to get bad again. They reached Sam's door which was closed,

"Bobby must be asleep." Sam breathed out between a cough.

"Yeah I agree, we should go in slowly." Dean whispered to Sam, "lets get you back in bed." Dean opened the door, letting it slam against the wall. Bobby jumped out of his bed.

"AHHHH" He yelled, but sat where he was. "What is going on?" He breathed heavily. "What time is it?" He glanced down at his watch. "Eleven?" He asked as he saw Sam and Dean smiling.

"Good morning Bobby." Dean smiled. He wheeled Sam over to his bed and helped him get comfortable back in the sling. "Does that feel ok?" He asked Sam as he adjusted his pillows.

"Yeah I am good, can you just hand me the oxygen?" Sam asked as he started wheezing again.

"Yeah" Dean hurrily handed him the mask, and laid the tank on the bed next to him. A nurse came in just as Dean did that.

"Ok sugar, we are going to get you hooked up to a wall oxygen so you have this little bad boy to carry around with you." She smiled as she reached for one of the bags hanging on the wall. She ripped it open and took out tubing, she hooked it up to a pipe coming from the wall and turned the little dial, the air made a hissing noise as it came through the nose piece. She then approached Sam and put it on his face right below his nose and around his head over his ears. "This should make breathing much easier. But with this, you have a good chance of a bloody nose, because it is straight air blowing all the time, it will dry it out. If that happens, just simply take off the oxygen for a few minutes, clean him up, and maybe put a little Vaseline in there. But the doctor doesn't want him off of the oxygen for more than a couple of minutes at a time." The nurse turned and left. Bobby was sitting on his bed edge still looking run over.

"What going on?" Bobby asked as he approached Sam from the other side.

"Well it seems Sam developed pneumonia and now he is on new medicine and oxygen to help him breathe." Dean concluded looking at Bobby's scared face. "Hey Bobby can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Dean asked nodding his head towards the door. "I will be right back Sam, I just have to tell Bobby something, try to get some sleep." Dean stroked Sam's forehead and walked out after Bobby closing the door behind him.

"Bobby, there is something that doctor back there wasn't telling me, and I think it was because Sam was there." Dean said rubbing his hand across his face.

"What do you mean, like something more serious is happening with Sam?" Bobby asked, trying to get Dean to look at him.

"I don't know, but it seemed that way to me. He was being dodgy. I don't know what this has to do with, but I am going to find out." Dean finally got himself around to saying it aloud. He had been thinking it since before they left the room with that doctor, but Dean didn't want to upset Sam.

"What are you going to do Dean?" Bobby asked almost worried.

"Nothing Bobby, I am just going to go ask him some questions." Dean sighed loudly. He knew he didn't have the emotional strength to go guano on a doctor. He was just seriously going to sit the doctor down and ask him some more questions about Sam.

"Well, I will go back in and entertain the kid." Bobby said as he patted Dean's shoulder. "Good luck son." Bobby practically whispered. Dean heard him all right though.

"Thanks Bobby" and with that Dean stalked around the corner back to the white rooms. He was walking with a quick pace when a nurse rolled out from behind the main nurse's station. She looked Dean square in the eyes and nodded her head.  
"You are with little Sam aren't you?" She asked. Dean just nodded his head in confusion. "Well, someone wants to come talk to you, hold on for one minute sweetheart." The cheery peppy nurse rolled back behind her desk and picked up the phone, Dean stood there in curiosity. _Yep. Mmhhmm. Ok, I will tell him. _The nurse rolled back out to the walkway. "Come on I will take you over to the interview rooms." She grabbed Dean's hand and she began leading him in the opposite direction. Dean noticed a woman walking strongly towards them, her cheap pant suit and her heels clicking on the floor reminded him of that time that Sam got injured by a demon and his first grade teacher called the child protective services. John blew them off naturally, and they skipped town not long after that, but the lady looked almost the same way. The hair pinned up nice and neat, not a crinkle in the nice suit, and the make up always done way to thick for a woman that age. She stopped in front of a door and let out a cheesy smile.

"Hello there. Are you Dean Winchester?" She asked. Dean just nodded his head. "My name is Amanda Goodfreed. I am going to be asking you some questions about things, and if you could just give me the honest answer we will be done in here in no time at all." She smiled as she beckoned Dean in to a room with a long table, some toys on the floor and a TV in the corner. Dean flopped down in the chair closest to the door and the woman walked in and shut the door behind her.

"Well, what is it you want to know lady?" Dean asked aggravated. She sat down carefully and laid the files out in front of her.

"If you want me to be frank. I want to know how often you get beat at home." The lady asked quickly. Dean was taken aback. No person has just asked that straight out before.

"What do you mean?" Dean played stupid well. He looked completely confused, or at least he felt like he looked like that. He probably just looked constipated.

"You know what I mean Dean. Do you remember when you lived in.." She paused as she glanced at the file, "Washington?" She shoved the file towards Dean. "I see you were checked in with a broken nose, three broken ribs, and a punctured lung." She looked at Dean's face as he grabbed the file pulling it towards him. He saw x-rays and facts about Dean. _This was when I was ten. _Dean thought to himself. _I got thrown by a poltergeist working with dad. He was so proud of me for getting right back up, but had to bring me to a hospital after I couldn't breathe. _Dean sat for a second thinking back to that time.

"All right." Dean chuckled, "so I fell off my bike and I got a little banged up." Dean pushed the file back towards the woman.

"Well, that isn't what concerned me Dean, we have records from over thirty hospital stays in the course of yours and Sam's lives. All for injuries that are sever and deserved surgery most of them." The lady looked like she was getting frustrated. "When we did an x-ray on Sam when he got in the hospital, the doctor ordered a full body scan. Did you know there were over six breaks on his ribs, a break in his shoulder, and some tearing in his knees. There was also a slight fracture in his shin bone that looks like it was caused by something impacting it hard. He had bruising and scarring on his back. All the signs of abuse." The woman finished and glanced at the blank face Dean had on.

"Okay, and this is something you are worried about, because?" Dean asked, trying to be annoying at this point. "I mean, kids fall, we get hurt." Dean sat back in his chair and rocked lightly thinking he had defeated the woman.

"Well, I want to know where your father is so we can talk to him about all these injuries." The nurse stacked the paper back up and put it back in the file. "I am going to want to talk to him within 48 hours, or we _will _turn this over to the state and let them handle it." She cleared her throat and got out of her seat. She walked over to the door and opened it, leaving Dean sitting there confused.

"I think I just got mind raped." Dean whispered to Bobby when he came back into Sam's room.

"They gave Sam pain medicine and his first round of treatment for the pneumonia. He is going to be sleeping for a while. What are you talking about boy?" Bobby asked finally getting back on topic.

"An in hospital counselor just tried to get me to tell them that dad is abusing us." Dean admitted.

"Well, you told her she was wrong right?" Bobby asked.

"Of course I did." Dean admitted, but he sighed. "She has a file on me and Sam, all of our injuries for a while now. Bobby, she really has me backed into a corner. She is giving me 48 hours to produce dad or she will turn us over to the state." Dean was breathing heavy by the time he finished explaining.

"Calm down boy, I won't let that happen. I doubt your dad will be here for a while. He is probably nursing his hangover, or drinking more to avoid one." Bobby sighed as he glanced over at the sleeping Sam. "We are going to figure this out Dean. Don't worry." Bobby got up off of his cot and walked over to the door.

"Bobby, we really stepped in it this time." Dean admitted quietly. He walked over to Sam's side and pushed his bangs out of his face. He heard Sam breathing evenly and sighed a breath of relief. "I can't be separated from Sam." Dean said with a determination type attitude.

"You won't have to be boy." Bobby trudged over to Dean's side and put his hand on his shoulder. "I won't let you and Sam be separated. I won't do it. I would never put you through that. If it comes to it son, I will take you and your brother in, but I would never force you to be apart from him. There are better solutions to being put in a home, and I will make that your last option." Bobby finished by squeezing Dean's shoulder before walking out of the closed door. The voices running through Dean's head told him to calm down, but he physically couldn't do it. Dean sat down on the edge of his cot, a headache growing greater and greater and making Dean sleepier. He laid his head down still looking at the bed where Sam was and let himself drift into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dean?" A voice broke through the silence of dreams. Dean let his eyes open slowly as he realized sleeping only made the headache worse. "Dean?" The voice called again, it sounded small, frail almost. Dean realized it was Sam and was on his feet faster than he thought imaginable with how he was feeling at the moment. He stalked over to Sam's side and realized Sam himself was just stirring from his sleep. He looked out the window and the moon was high in the sky. _It's late. _Dean thought to himself.

"Hey Sammy, I'm here." Dean whispered, coaxing Sam back into the world of the awake.

"Dean?" Sam asked groggily again.

"Here I am." Dean whispered, grabbing and lightly squeezing Sam's hand.

"What are you doing awake?" Sam asked glancing at the little bedside clock. "Is it really three in the morning?" Sam asked looking around the dark room.

"Yeah buddy." Dean said quietly glancing over at the empty cot that Bobby would inhabit. _Hm, I wonder where he went. _Dean wondered to himself.

"Where is Uncle Bobby?" Sam asked like he was reading my mind.

"I have no idea. Probably to the bathroom." Dean guessed.

"Ah" Sam hissed in pain.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked as he stepped in closer to his little brother. He laid his hand on Sam's body and realized that he had a high fever.

"I don't know my side is killing me." He hissed through pain. Dean couldn't hit the nurses button fast enough.

"Help is on the way." Dean said in a soothing voice. A woman came through the door less than a minute later.

"Can I help…" But she faded out after seeing Sam rocking in pain. He was now crying and holding onto his side, she ran over and pushed a blue button above Sam's headboard and she laid him down flat. She pulled up his shirt and looked at the incision. "Shit" she whispered under her breath. She glanced at the door as three more nurses came in. "We need adrenaline and some pain medicine stat. His breathing is dropping and his fever is jumping quickly. We need to see what is going on in there. Someone page Dr. Masters and have him come to the OR immediately." The nurse was barking out orders like she was in charge, Dean just stood there confused about what was happening. She then turned to him and he almost jumped back surprised. "You need to leave the room now, we need to rush Sam in for immediate surgery and we need guardians consent." She looked at Dean for a second before Dean could respond.

"Um, well I am watching out for him, our dad is busy and can't be here." Dean rubbed the back of his neck, he was trying to get a better look at Sam from around the nurse.

"He needs surgery now." The nurse quickly snapped. "He could die kid! Is there an adult around?" At the word "die" Dean froze up and got scared. He was tearing up a little. He didn't know what to do.

"Do the damn surgery" Dean heard Bobby's voice pipe up behind him. Dean turned in time to see Bobby looking red faced with coffee cups in his hands. The nurse nodded her head, shouted some medical jumble at the nurses and they wheeled Sam out right past the stunned Dean. When the commotion had moved down the hallway Dean let out a sigh and dropped to the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Bobby asked, putting the coffee on the end table.

"Sam, he has gotten worse." Dean mumbled out. "I don't know…" Dean looked at Bobby his eyes teary. "I can't loose him Bobby" Dean sniffled out. Through all of Bobby's years of breaking up John and Dean fist fighting, through all the blood, stitches, bruising and broken bones. He had never seen Dean cry. A tear hit the floor and Bobby was at a loss of words. He stared down at the boy and put his hand on his shoulder. He crouched down in front of him.

"Listen to me." He cleared his throat and tried not to cry himself. "Sam is in the best hands possible, he will be fine…" Bobby's speech was cut short by a ruckus that was going on out in the main lobby.

"Where is my family?" The man yelled loudly.

"I don't know sir; if you would calm down and fill out this paperwork we can locate them." The nurse matched his voice tone.

"Dad?" Dean asked. He got off of the ground and walked over to the door, peering out slightly. He saw John standing there in a clean shirt and jeans, the familiar pack thrown over his shoulder. He glanced up and saw Dean.

"There is one of my sons right there." He pointed and stalked past the main counter. Much to the nurses dismay, she just dropped the clipboard and sat back down.

"Dad?" Dean asked again as John got closer to him.

"John?" Bobby asked as he stuck his head out behind Dean. He walked around Dean and pretty much pushed him back in the room. "What are you doing here? I thought I said to just stay away." Bobby approached the man with a little rigid attitude.

"Bobby, you had no right to take them." John scolded in a quite hushed tone.

"I did what was best for the boys, and I am glad I did." Bobby's voice was raised and the nurses were now leaning over looking towards the commotion. Bobby grabbed John and pulled him into the room closing the door behind him.

"Dean?" John asked as he looked at the cot that was occupied by the boy.

"Yeah." Dean solemnly responded. He wiped his eyes because Winchester men never shed tears. John noticed his action and looked at him concern in his eyes. He turned to Bobby quickly.

"How is Sam?" He asked. Dean winced at Sam's name coming out of John's mouth.

"He is going into another surgery." Dean piped up before Bobby could. "And you know what…" Dean rose from the cot.

"Dean.." Bobby began to warn, but backed off when he saw Dean's face.

"I may be a kid, and you may be my dad, but, you are a giant bag of dicks." Dean breathed out the words like he was beyond frustrated.

"Excuse me?" John asked as he lay his duffle on the floor.

"You heard me. All these days that we were in here, and you couldn't come see Sam. You know he cried, in his sleep, I heard him muttering, he was talking about you. He was saying he was scared and he apologized to you." Dean was yelling at this point and he didn't care. Bobby stood in the corner with his glance down at the ground. John was silent. He stood there in utter disbelief. "You know another thing, _dad, _while we are in here, Bobby has been taking care of us, he has been the nicest person to us. You, were just drunk." Dean finished his sentence, wiping his mouth. He began to storm towards the door.

"Where are you going Dean?" John yelled at him.

"Away." Dean yelled back as he opened the door and practically ran out. He ran until he reached the front door, only then did he stop to take a breath. _I just stood up to him. _Dean thought. _I did it. _He sighed from relief before he felt the food making a come back. He threw himself at the nearest men's room but didn't make it. He puked all over the front hallway. He let his knees hit the floor and the tears brimmed his eyes. He felt two soft hands on his shoulders.

"Come on sweetie." A nice nurse moved Dean enough to get him into a wheelchair. Dean had never felt more sick or tired in his life. He was falling asleep he felt it. No not asleep, he was about to pass out. The nurse put her hand on Dean's neck, feeling his pulse no doubt. Her hands felt cool to the touch and Dean leaned into them. "Well, you have a fever..." She stopped talking and kind of crouched down in front of Dean. "Honey, are you ok?" She asked, noticing Dean not being really there. She stood up quickly. "I need a gurney over here, NOW!" She yelled it and that was the last thing Dean heard before succumbing to the darkness.

"Now two of my kids are sick." Dean heard his dad's gruff voice before he could see anything. Darkness, it was so warm. _Is this what it would be like to die? _Dean wondered to himself as he heard a monitor beeping next to his head. He slowly began to see light through his closed eyes and he shuddered at the headache he was nursing.

"Dean?" He heard Bobby's voice right next to his ear. Dean let out a groan. "John, I think he is waking up." Bobby whispered. Dean heard footsteps coming closer to his bed, followed by a calloused hand touching his forehead.

"Dad?" Dean croaked out, his throat dry and he had a strange taste in his mouth, kind of like metal.

"Dean!" Bobby and John called at the same time.

"Where am I?" Dean asked. He had finally managed to open his eyes enough to see the hospital ceiling.

"They said you have been pushing yourself too hard." Bobby explained pushing past John to see Dean for himself.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked, smaking his lips a little. Dean began to take in his surroundings, he was in a hospital room, there were no cots and Sam wasn't there.

"SAM!" Dean yelled and he tried to get up, but upon getting dizzy he set his body back against the pillow.

"Don't worry Dean, Sam is out of surgery and he is fine." Bobby coaxed, he laid his hand on Dean's shoulder.

"How long was I out?" Dean asked, now looking from John to Bobby.

"Well, what time is it?" Bobby asked looking around for a clock.

"Nine thirty." John commented quietly like a puppy put in a corner.

"There you have it boy, you were out for a while." Bobby quietly said. "They said you have a cold that got out of control from a lack of sleep and food." Bobby sighed to himself. Dean settled himself further into the pillow, embarrassed more than anything. John was staring down at the floor leaning against the wall underneath the little TV mounted on the wall.

"What did they say about Sam?" Dean asked, obviously worried.

"They said something along the lines of, the inside stitches, they were getting infected and something else, but I can't understand doctor talk. All in all they said that they got all the infection out, and with this new course of antibiotics he should make a full recovery in no time. They also said that his leg is the main focus now. He will be in the sling for another couple of days, then, it will be out of it. But he will be here for at least another week." Bobby quietly looked at Dean, gauging his reactions.

"Well, I want to go see him." Dean threw the covers back from his body and threw his legs over the side. Dean knew he was going to feel instantly sick, but he didn't care. He needed to see Sam, he needed to see with his own eyes that he was ok. Dean let his feet touch the cold floor and let out a chill.

"Well, at least take the IV with you." Bobby said half heartedly. He knew nothing he was going to say was going to keep Dean in the bed away from Sam. Dean nodded his head and took everything really slowly. He got up and got his legs before taking a step. John was leaning forward, ready to launch to catch Dean if he fell. Dean didn't want to let any one know how bad he actually felt. _Sam is feeling worse, Sam is feeling worse. _He kept chanting in his mind.

"I need to get there." Dean commented lightly as he looked at Bobby's worried reaction. Bobby put his hand underneath Dean's forearm and helped him walk out of the room. John just leaned back against the wall and let out a sigh.

The walk to see Sam was the longest walk of Dean's life. He wanted to go faster but his entire body was angry at him, and he knew he couldn't move any faster. Bobby was whispering cuss words, probably thinking about John. Dean hobbled along as fast as his body would let him.

"What was his room number again?" Dean asked. He was practically admitting he was walking without knowing where he was going.

"Right here." Bobby gripped Dean's arm tighter and that made him come to a halt. The door was closed and Dean felt tightness in his chest. He walked over and opened the door carefully, before he could even see the boy he heard the monitors going. A normal soft pace tone was beeping, keeping the air still.

"Sammy?" Dean called before he walked over the threshold.

"Dean?" A small voice called back. Dean could tell it was a very sore Sammy. He walked over and saw the small boy sitting up in his bed. The oxygen under his nose. "Dean!" Sam practically yelled excited when he saw the boy. Dean walked as quickly as he could to Sam's side, breaking free of Bobby's grip. "What happened to you?" Sam asked obviously worried glancing at the IV pole.

"Nothing." Dean sighed loudly. "How are you doing?" He asked grabbing Sam's arm.

"I feel much better. Uncle Bobby said I will be out of here in no time." Sam smiled brightly. His leg was still hung up in the sling. The cast had blue writing on it and noticed Bobby had signed his cast. Dean walked over and picked up the blue sharpie off of the end table.

"You mind?" He asked Sam who was watching his movements.

"Of course not Dean." Sam smiled. He watched as Dean scribed his name near his foot.

"When you get better Sam, I am going to teach you to shoot that gun dad got you for your birthday." Dean smiled at his brother while he capped the pen.

"Where is dad?" Sam asked.

"He is around here somewhere." Dean fake smiled at Sam while he dropped into the arm chair. Dean glanced at Bobby, in response Bobby nodded his head and left the room. "I think Uncle Bobby is going to get him now." Dean patted Sam's hand. He sat for a minute, basking in the silence. There was a knock on the door frame and a petit blonde nurse came through the door.

"You must be," She looked at the chart. "Dean." She smiled as she looked at the boys hand.

"I am." Dean smiled back, he knew she was cute and knowing that Sam was ok, he decided to turn on the charm.

"Age 15?" She asked?

"Yeah." Dean nodded his head.

"Mmhmm." She smiled in Sam's direction. "And you must be Sam, I was here last night, but you were asleep so you didn't see me." She smiled as she walked over and looked at Sam's IV port. "Are you boys being good?" She asked glancing from little Sam to older Dean.

"Yes ma'am." Sam commented, he was looking right at her face, Dean was looking at something far less innocent. She then walked over to Dean and held out her hand.

"Can I see your port?" She asked. He held out his arm and she fiddled with it for a second. "Well that just knocked out two things at once." She smiled as she turned on her heels. "Ok Mr. Sam, we are going to give you some antibiotics for your stomach, and then we are going to talk to the doctor and see when we can get your leg out of that sling." She turned on her heels and walked out the door.

"Wow." Dean smiled. "I think she likes you." Dean glanced at Sam who instantly got red.

"Shut up Dean." He breathed. The nurse came back through the door with the syringe on a metal tray.

"Ok sugar, lets get this in you. I talked to the head nurse, and she said tomorrow, we will be getting your leg out of this, and then you can try some walking. But you have to be very careful because of the stitches." She smiled as she took the IV port and cleaned it.

"Is this one going to burn?" Sam asked quietly.

"It might a little, but only for a second." She Stuck the needle into the port and looked at her watch as she pushed it in. Sam let out a hiss and Dean was immediately standing by his brother's side. "OK, that's it." She pulled out the needle and looked at Dean with a kind glance.

"You hear that Sam, you are going to be walking around tomorrow." Dean slapped Sam's arm.

"Well, not exactly walking Dean." Sam chuckled slightly. Dean sat back down in the chair, just as there was another knock on the door.

"Hey there son." John's voice broke the comforting tone and changed it immediately.


End file.
